Jesus was all about Truth--Honor him with the Truth

Religious leaders call the events surrounding Jesus’ birth in the Gospels “the First Christmas.” However, nowhere in the New Testament will you find Jesus’ disciples celebrating his birthday. In fact, the day and month of Jesus’ birth are absent from the Bible—and there is a reason for that. The simple and truthful answer is that first‑century Jews did not celebrate birthdays.

The Jewish historian Josephus stated, “Nay, indeed, the law does not permit us to make festivals at the birth of our children and thereby afford occasion of drinking to excess” (Josephus, translated by W. Whiston, Against Apion, Book II, Chapter 26). Encyclopedia Judaica is equally direct on this topic: “The celebration of birthdays is unknown in traditional Jewish ritual.”

Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that Joseph and Mary, who were Jews, would not have celebrated their children’s birthdays. It is also reasonable to believe that Jesus would not have celebrated birthdays and would not have desired his own birthday to be celebrated.

“There is no tradition in Judaism of celebrating birthdays; otherwise, we would have a list of birthdays from Noah, Abraham, Moses, King David, and many others, but no such thing exists. There are no ‘birthdays’ within Judaism, the Torah, or among Judahite Christians down through the ages. Since nearly all of the first Christians were Judahites, this may partially explain why the celebration of the Messiah’s birth would not have been consistent with early custom.”

Birthday celebrations were a pagan practice. “The giving of birthday gifts is a custom associated with the offering of sacrifices to pagan gods on their birthdays. Certainly, the custom was linked with the same superstitions that formed the background for birthday greetings. ‘The exchange of presents’ is associated with the importance of ingratiating good and evil fairies on their or our birthdays.”

The first recorded celebration of Christmas was on December 25, 336 C.E. This date was chosen for several reasons, including its association with the Roman festivals of Saturnalia and Sol Invictus (“Unconquered Sun”), whose birthday was celebrated on December 25. This date marked the winter solstice and symbolized the rebirth of the sun.